


The witch's son

by Steangine



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: AU, Fantasy setting, Knight, M/M, magician
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-21
Updated: 2017-07-23
Packaged: 2018-12-05 02:53:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11568807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Steangine/pseuds/Steangine
Summary: Kuroko Tetsuya had a peaceful life in the small village he has been living in for three years. However, when the rumor of the return of the Black Knight, believed to be dead, arrives to the village, he'll be forced to face what he left behind.(The story is much less dramatic than the summary, but I'm bad at it.)





	1. Once upon a time there was a Black Knight

**Author's Note:**

> This was requested on my blog on tumblr (ourendlessbluesky).  
> I enjoyed writing it and finally I managed to write a fantasy AoKuro with this title (that doesn't make much sense for the story but okay).

There was a small region in the vast Empire of Teikou. In the North of that small region, there was such a small village that it wasn’t even traced on the maps. Near that small village there was a grove which hid a small wooden house.

Inside that wooden house lived Kuroko Tetsuya, the witch’s son.

Almost everyone in the village called him like that when talking about him. Kuroko was the offspring of a male human and a female witch, an unusual boy who didn’t inherit his magical power from his father. But the villagers were happy, as they could count on a magician whenever their efforts weren’t enough to face difficulties. However, during the three years of his stay, the only grave crisis Kuroko helped to resolve was an epidemy brought by a magical parasite which arrived at them through the seeds of milkernel one of the villagers bought at the monthly market in the nearest city – “nearest” meant a week on horse to reach.

From that day, he lived on the selling of charms and enchanted objects in the magical markets of the nearby town and on the kindness of the villagers, who gave them food as he used his powers to avoid minor inconveniences – however, as he kept saying, protecting the growth of the fields and creating barriers to keep predators away from the livestock was something that even a mediocre magician as him could do, nothing special.

But Kuroko kept being special at the eyes of the villagers and he went on with his peaceful and predictable routine for three long pleasant years.

Until one day, Koganei Shinji dashed through the streets of the village as if he was chased by something dangerous. And many thought so, giving scared looks at the way he left behind, at least before he jumped on the pile of white rocks, the symbol of the village.

“The black knight!” He shrieked out. “Tsugawa Tomoki from the village over the river told me the Black Knight is still alive!”

Nobody cared about Koganei anymore. Someone laughed, the others kept acting as if he had never spoken.

“Hey, that’s true!”

Already in the afternoon nobody remembered what Koganei said. However, two days later Miyaji, Otsubo and Kimura, three merchants that often brought in the village their products, revealed the rumor had been spreading for some months and that one acquaintance of them saw the Black Knight in the flesh.

Of course, almost everyone didn’t change their mind. But Kuroko was visited by all those who had to go selling their products at the monthly market and each of them asked for a defensive charm.

“The Black Knight is dead.” He assured at every single of his customers with his unmoved calm. “And even if he were to be alive, he surely won’t come to this village.”

At the end of the month all the villagers who left for the market came back safe but alarmed. They all marched into the woods and knocked at Kuroko’s house. Nobody was in and they started thinking about going and find him, when his voice scared all of them.

“I went harvesting some moonmleria. I’m glad to see you are all safe and lively.”

The house was small, but everyone managed to get inside on the small living room, a stool for each and a cup of infusion of herbs to calm their nerves. It was a mix of herbs Kuroko received from one merchant and it took effect, even if they were still shaken.

“What happened?”

“The Black Knight was seen in the lands in the North of the town! From his path, it seems like he’s heading towards our lands!”

Furihata was the most sensitive and easily frightening among all the presents, but he was the first to speak. His companions nodded and exchanged quick glances.

“It sounds strange, since you arrived here and didn’t meet him.”

Maybe it was the continuous ticking in the background of the countless strange metal thin instruments or maybe it was Kuroko’s reassuring presence, but almost everyone calmed down enough to make a straight reasoning on the matter. And take a sip of infusion.

“He may have taken another route.”

“I mean, what would he do in out village? It’s so small it doesn’t even appear on the map of the territory!!!”

“And they said he’s dead! I suppose it’s a prank.”

They finished their infusions with fear turned into indignation for rumors and pranks which spread around worrying honest villagers.

However, when they left his house and Kuroko headed outside to finish his harvesting, Furihata stayed behind on purpose. He was fidgeting and looked at him with nervous eyes.

“You still aren’t convinced, aren’t you, Furihata?” Kuroko smiled. “Don’t worry. If someone with bad intentions will enter the range of the charm I put on the village, I’ll know it in time to stop it.”

“I know…” Furihata raised an angle of his mouth, but he didn’t manage to smile back. “I’m a bit worried… maybe it’s not the same Black Knight which is supposed to be dead but…”

Kuroko tilted his head.

“…I overheard a conversation in the town. I was lost and ended up in the black market – I didn’t want to!” Furihata felt guilty, even if Kuroko wasn’t blaming him. “And while I was going back I saw an injured merchant and he said the Black Knight hurt him while looking for… well, a magician who looks like a phantom.”

Furihata tried to find a sign of fear or surprise or anything in Kuroko’s eyes, but he gave him a deadpanned look.

“Uhm… you see, since you have a low presence, are able with camouflage and stuff I thought…”

“It’s comprehensible, Furihata-kun.” Kuroko nodded. “But whoever the Black Knight may be, I’m pretty sure he’s looking for another magician. It’s easy to conceal one’s presence with magical powers and some magicians do it a lot to have a peaceful life.” He stopped for a second. “It’s my guess that the disappearances that have been taunting these lands lately are the work of groups of mercenaries. Out there, the fight for power is getting harsher and harsher.” Then he smiled. “We’re lucky that these lands offer nothing that would entice major dangers.”

“Yeah, lucky.” It looked like a heavy rock was lifted from Furihata’s heart. His lips curved up, still trembling, but he looked more at ease than before. “I’m sorry I kept you busy for this long! Have a nice day!” He bowed and took the path which headed to the village.

Kuroko put on his head the hood of his cap and sighed.

“I left Nigou looking over the basket of the moonmleria for too long. I hope he didn’t fall asleep in the middle of his guard.”

But when he arrived on the groove he left as his charm had detected the presence of the villagers, his familiar was sleeping next to the empty basket. Kuroko let a tiny slow fairy, unaware of his presence, fly away with the last seed of moonmleria and he started harvesting it again.

***

There were tiny bottles flying around Kuroko’s house. They came in different shapes and sizes and didn’t let anyone, except for Kuroko himself, touch them. Each gleamed of the color of liquid wind inside them, a dancing but silent rainbow that floated around the magician. Only one of them was different from the others.

Kuroko created it when he was welcomed at the village, the charm that protected every single person in the small area. Its light was of a black so deep that every time it crossed the path with the other bottles it looked like it sucked all their glimmers.

A week after the harvesting of moonmleria, the black liquid wind flooded out from the bottle as Kuroko was transcribing some potions’ methods of brewing on a book. By the time he was outside into the woods, he knew the head of the village, Kagetora Aida, had already alerted all the villagers. Kuroko marched near the path traced by the liquid wind, which turned into a thin radiant black butterfly that was leading him to the intruding danger.

Kuroko wondered who entered those lands with the intent of giving harm to his small village. Even if he knew it wasn’t possible, as the charm reacted, he had a clear reminiscence of a power he used to know too well.

The more he penetrated into the woods, the more the air around him thickened and his breath condensed in white puffs.

“Nigou, everything alright?”

His familiar was hiding on the creases of his cape. Feeling his warm breath on the neck and the snout pressing against the head was a relief.

The black butterfly was swinging in front of him. And in an instant, something sliced it in two halves that disintegrated into the air.

Even before the sword retreated, Kuroko evoked a barrier and backed. The dark figure ambushing through the trees clattered as it got closer. An armor. Black with rusty traces that ruined the pattern of blue cuts that looked like medals from battles, but Kuroko knew had been made on purpose by his owner.

The shock overcame him, freezing his body to the ground and sticking his eyes on the armor. But Nigou barked loud near his ears and it pierced to his brain, dragging Kuroko back from his reverie.

“What kind of sick joke.” He didn’t want his voice to tremble. “Looks like there was enough trace of your spiritual energy left on the armor to allow a necromancer to bring your raging spirit on Earth again.” He tended the arm and a small light blue sphere arose on his palm, deforming into a longer shape. “How sad, Aomine-kun.”

Kuroko clenched his hand around his black staff so tight his knuckles turned white. His voice was calm, but his eyes were dancing fire. He pointed the top of the staff, a thick spiral surrounded by tiny blue flames, towards the armor.

“Reveal.”

As guided by the wind, the flames tried to form a circle around the armor, but before the two edges could connect, they disappeared in feeble bangs. Kuroko felt the interruption of his charm traversing his whole body in a shake of pain. When he opened the eyes again, he was kneeling on the cold grass.

Nigou whimpered, freeing his head from the cloth of the cape.

“Looks like I’ll need your help, Nigou.”

Whoever made that, it was a magician stronger than him. He couldn’t track them down, probably the one had defenses, but he could break the spell that was tying Aomine’s energy to his armor.

Kuroko had to dodge left to avoid the swing of the sword. He was lucky that the shadow of Aomine wasn’t even half as strong as the real Aomine was. But he still managed to pierce his cape and Kuroko had to let it go. Nigou jumped down from his shoulders.

Kuroko pierced the ground with his staff and the barks of the trees melted in white threads, tangling around the armor. A snarl rose from the helm and the knight managed to free his right arm and his sword. However, Kuroko noticed, the increased presence of his magic was weakening the magic spell put on the armor.

“You’re still fighting back even if you’re dead, Aomine-kun. A necromancer just can’t control you…” He held back tears as the flames around the spiral of the staff turned black. “I’m… so sorry.” A tear rolled down his face.

The black flames on the staff burst out as Kuroko evoked more around Nigou. A lucid sphere of black flames enveloped the dog, his small bark turned into a deep growl. The knight freed himself from the protective spells Kuroko had placed in the woods after his arrival and dashed towards the magician with his sword drawn.

The sphere behind Kuroko cracked and the dark skeleton of a claw pushed the knight back. Nigou leaped out, as tall as two men, a skeleton which skin were the black flames of the hell he was called from. His howl rasped through the bare fangs and echoed into the woods. The knight replied with an angered scream.

Kuroko didn’t move.

His hesitation allowed Aomine to pierce through the ribcage of Nigou, such a great spiritual strength that the hellhound cried in pain while trying with his fangs to keep the enemy trapped near him. That awakened Kuroko. He saw nothing into the helmet of the armor, nothing of Aomine into that gesture filled with hatred. He pulled the staff out of the ground and aimed at the armor.

“Spirits of the undead…” Black threads pierced out from the ground, thicker than the white ones, and blocked the knight right before he could strike again at Nigou. The hellhound pinned him down with both his front paws and showed his long pointy teeth. A menace that didn’t have any effect on the cursed soul. The subtle wind of the forest was pushed away by a strongest blow that circled around the contenders, flowing up to the sky and raising dust like a thin veil.

“…lend me your powers from the underworld.” Kuroko’s clear blue eyes turned into black orbs. “I release thee!”

The shape of a transparent lance flourished from the ground, piercing through the armor in a penetrating shriek. Kuroko didn’t know if it was Aomine’s voice or the sound of the destruction of the charm that was mixing with the dying choir of the undead power he evoked.

As the lance penetrated the enemy, it suddenly broke down in thousand pieces that disappeared into thin air. Something destroyed it, but too late, as it managed to separate the curse from the armor. A deep black mist floated over them. For an endless instant Kuroko called back all his energies to cast an offensive charm and stop the existence of that presence. But it didn’t do anything and dashed to the horizon. Kuroko was caught by surprise, it all happened too fast for him to react at the unexpected move and the adrenaline of that he thought it would have been his final attack abandoned his body all at once. He fell on his knees, surrounded by the silence of the nature that felt too unnatural now. He curled on himself.

It had been so long since the last time he used the power of the underworld. Even though he casted them as protection, he had never thought they would have been useful one day. That land was too far and too poor for someone to have interest in it. But something arrived there.

Kuroko only raised his head when he felt Nigou’s whine. Even in his hellhound form he was still capable of caring love.

“I’m fine, Nigou.” He touched his smooth snout. “I’m fine.” His voice broke as he spotted the armor with the corner of his eye.

He crawled to what remained of his friend. His body was too heavy to drag around and Kuroko realized he underestimated whoever casted that curse: the power he called for help took more energy than he expected in exchange.

“Aomine-kun.”

What a fool. He knew the armor couldn’t reply. Aomine Daiki died five years prior. Just few months after their ways parted, a short time that was enough for Kuroko to be overwhelmed by a regret he wasn’t able to shake off.

“I am… so sorry.”

He couldn’t see well through the tears, everything seemed covered by a watery veil.

Then the gloved hand of the armor grabbed his head.


	2. Reload of the tale

A slow sound of drops falling into water. That was the first thing he felt in the distance. Every drop sounded closer and closer, until they became so low he couldn’t pretend to ignore them anymore. Maybe he should have opened his eyes. Maybe. But his eyes hurt as he tried to lift his eyelids. They burnt in pain and he groaned.

Then something climbed on wherever he was lying -somewhere soft- and his senses were too dull to rely solely on his instinct. He fought the pain and opened his eyes.

Bottles. Countless bottles were floating in the air, with colorful drops going up and down. He lowered his eyes and noticed a small black and white dog panting on his chest. The dog scampered near his face and didn’t wait to lick him all over his forehead.

“W-wai–“ He coughed. “Wait, you–“

The dog didn’t listen to him and walked over his head, covering again his eyes.

Did he have enough energy to raise his arms and taking off that hat-alike dog? He decided he had, but it was difficult overcoming the heavy weight of the blanket to uncover the arms and it was more difficult bringing them over his head. A pat on the head was sufficient for the dog to walk back on his chest and curl there.

His arms fell on the cushion and he felt hopeless, with his body as light as a feather and his eyes burning like an inferno.

Among the drops, the door was opened. But his eyes, too tired from sleep deprivation, remained closed.

Light steps, almost silent. The noise of an object being put on a wooden surface, then a tiny sound of breath streaming among the lips.

“Nigou, don’t wake him up.”

His whole body jolted. That voice, he knew that voice too well. The dog raised his head, he felt him jumping down from his chest to his side, the warmth of his fur still against his right hip. He wanted to open his mouth, call him, stop him there.

_ Don’t go. _

Nor his lips, nor his voice responded. The little energies he had had disappeared and he was floating into a slumber where the drops were turning off one after another, further and further.

_ Don’t go! Stay here! _

As his body was infecting his soul, even his spirit was falling again into the deep dark of sleep. The last thing he would have wanted to scream was his name.

_ Tetsu _ _! _

And the world shut down.

He woke up for the second time without the dog on his chest. But the dog was staring at him from a stall with an intense curiosity into his blue eyes. He was crouched, his rear paws fidgeting.

“Don’t you–“

His words were cut by the leap that landed perfectly on his stomach. All his breath was drawn out from his lungs, but enough strength returned for him to sit down and make the dog roll on the bed. The animal didn’t look scared under his scowl and remained belly up as if he was waiting for a stroke. He didn’t know why he couldn’t stay angry at him.

“What a silly creature…” The dog let him caress his belly. “What’s your name, little one?”

“Nigou. His name’s Nigou.”

He froze.

The door was open, Kuroko was standing with a tray floating behind him. His face wasn’t showing a single emotion.

“Tetsu!”

He tended towards the door with all his body. However, something didn’t work right, his legs didn’t respond to his will of running towards the magician and he saw the floor getting too close, too fast. Every fiber into his body prepared him at the harsh impact with the hard surface. So, he wasn’t prepared at the softness of the embrace, the smooth clothes touching lightly his skin. He wasn’t prepared at Kuroko rushing at him and using his body as a pillow to prevent him from getting hurt.

He laughed, his chest hurt a bit. “Usually, _I_ was the one saving you.”

“I guess we remember a different story, Aomine-kun.”

Aomine Daiki, the Black Knight, looked up at Kuroko’s eyes, as clear as the summer sky of the lands where he was born and that he still loved after all the places he had been traveling into. And Kuroko’s little smile was as bright as the sun that reigned over the infinite lands of sunflowers that protected his childhood.

Aomine raised his arms and touched Kuroko’s face. His fingers run on the cheeks, the nose, he rubbed the thumbs on his lips and Kuroko closed his eyes as Aomine brushed on them.

“Tetsu, you’re the real one.”

Happiness filled his heart, tears filled his eyes.

“Tetsu, you’re real. You’re here.”

Aomine was heavy as he grabbed onto his clothes and pushed his face against his chest. Kuroko’s heart was heavy as Aomine kept crying into his embrace and his lips trembled. He thought he would have been angry at him, he would have yelled at him, asked what happened, why he disappeared, why he returned. What a fool he was, trying to fool himself like that.

If there was a person in the world Kuroko Tetsuya could have never hated, was Aomine Daiki. And that moment, how he wanted it to last forever. Them, together, in one another’s arms after too much time.

Aomine fell asleep again among the sobs and when he woke up in the middle of the night, Kuroko was sitting next to him.

“Now you won’t fall asleep again before you’ve eaten something.” He menaced with a calm voice as Aomine was enough awake to understand him.

Kuroko maintained his eyes fixed on Aomine, followed the movement of his arm as he took spoonful of food and brought them to the mouth. The fear of having prepared too much or of Aomine rejecting to eat enough was erased by the voracity the young man showed after the first nibbles. The food touched his lips, as if Aomine was scared of something, and he munched on the first mouthfuls so slow that Kuroko could spot the small bulge moving into his mouth and descending through the throat. Aomine gobbled the soup, devoured the meat and, to Kuroko’s surprise, finished all the vegetables. Then he wiped his mouth with the back of the hand.

“It’s strange.” His chuckle didn’t reach his eyes. “I didn’t recall food being so delicious. You improved your cooking skills, Tetsu. Impressive, as you weren’t even able to brew a proper infusion.”

Kuroko knew that his skills didn’t improve that much. He was afraid that Aomine’s taste was just starving some proper food, as probably he had been living on magical energy for who knew how much time.

“That’s rude. You didn’t change at all.”

Aomine was as tired as his smile, but as Kuroko stood up and took the tray, he called him back.

“Wait, Tetsu.” He hesitated. “Uhm… I thought you wanted to… know.”

“I want to.” Kuroko looked at him. “I want, but I also don’t want to put pressure on you. It doesn’t matter. When you’ll feel like talking, then I’ll–“

“But I do!” Aomine interrupted him. “I want to talk to you! We met after a long time and… so many things… I don’t…”

He didn’t want to remain alone into the room. Aomine recalled the sensation of being alone, trapped into the armor without a way of escaping and with the world around him so blur that he hadn’t been sure he was living or was trapped into a limbo until he was set free.  
But he remembered that he didn’t have any right to force Kuroko staying with him.

“Look Tetsu, I–“

Kuroko left the tray floating his way to the kitchen.

“I do want to talk with you.” He admitted taking Nigou into his arms. It gave him time to take his courage and look at Aomine without making fear and sadness pooling inside his eyes so that he would have brought down more the other’s mood. “I do, Aomine-kun.” Kuroko sat on the chair next to the bed. “I’ve been missing staying like this.”

Kuroko looked at him, but regretted it as he felt a feeble warmth spreading on his cheeks.

“With me laying on the bed and you scolding me? Yeah, that calls back memories…” Aomine chuckled, his head sunk into the pillow. “Come to think of it… Satsuki and Kise? And the others?”

Kuroko shrugged. “After… _that_ I went away and arrived here. I’ve never tried to contact anyone, I didn’t want to bring any harm here.”

Aomine remained silent with his eyes fixed on the ceiling. Nigou was moving his head right and left; he didn’t have a clue of what was happening between them, but he felt like the atmosphere was so tense that his master wasn’t feeling well. He nudged Kuroko’s hand with the nose and when he realized there wasn’t the usual response -a scratch behind his ears- he barked aloud. Both Kuroko and Aomine looked at him, his white chest out and proud.

“Where did you find that dog?”

“Didn’t you notice?”

“What?”

“He’s my familiar.”

Aomine propped up on an elbow, turning to side.

“Really? You finally managed to summon one?!”

“Yes.”

“That’s good news! I mean, all you could summon were just dead animals which couldn’t stay here for much long!”

“Skeletons of animals from Hell. And they were all cute.”

Aomine snickered. But his mouth froze wide open in the middle of a chuckle as Nigou’s fur retreated in front of his eyes until it remained a skeleton of the dog wagging its tail. The skeleton tilted his head and barked.

“Nigou is a Hellhound. This is his basic form though. It took me a full year of trials, but I managed to tie him to my soul. And he gladly accepted my request.”

Aomine made his head fall on the pillow again.

“You are incredible, Tetsu.”

Nigou gained his external cover again -the eyes popped out for last- and jumped down from Kuroko’s legs to reach Aomine on the bed. He tried to jump once, but the push of his rear paws wasn’t enough, so he fell on the floor. Before he could take another turn, Aomine caught him from the scruff of the neck and put him on the bed. Nigou climbed on his hip, hung on it.

“So now you don’t need a Knight anymore.”

“I don’t need it because I retired.”

Aomine frowned. “Why?”

Kuroko shrugged. “Because we argued and I didn’t manage to get you back. I was worth of something just when I was with you, your power was the only one that matched with mine. Mayuzumi took my place easily and when the news of your death reached us I had no more reasons to stay.” His lips trembled in a bitter smile. “I am nothing without you.”

Aomine raised an arm. Kuroko stiffened at the contact of his fingers on his cheek, but didn’t retreat at the touch. He half closed his eyes, his mind lost in the remembrance of the past, when they were close, when–

_ Smack. _

A hard poke on his forehead. Kuroko opened his eyes wide.

“What was that?”

“You are great Tetsu. You are a formidable magician, a witty strategist and you always come up with solutions to every problem. But sometimes you really talk like a dumb idiot.”

“D-dumb idiot?”

“It’s not you who’s nothing without me. _I_ am nothing without you,  Tetsu. We split up, you managed to go on and I fell down.”

Kuroko wanted to reply. However, there was something that blocked him, a linger into Aomine’s words that made him realize he wasn’t finished yet. And a sad expression was carved into his features.

“I was sure I could fight without you. Back then I was sure you were the biggest idiot and your magic couldn’t reach me because you were too weak. You didn’t want me to hurt my opponents, while I was getting stronger as I defeated those in front of me and I wanted to defeat more. When you left…” He stopped, his eyes fixed on Nigou, now lying near his chest. “…I wanted to prove you wrong. I wasn’t turning mad; my power wasn’t devouring me. But one day it did. I don’t recall how, it just happened. The world became… shady. The sounds were muffled, the colors faded away. I was devoid of any feeling… except the impulse of destroying everything.” Aomine closed his eyes. “Tetsu, I killed many people, but I can’t remember how it happened, nor their faces. I can’t remember when it all started. It just… happened.”

He felt the wet tip of Nigou’s nose rubbing against his cheek.

“Nigou helped me lifting the curse from you.”

Aomine opened his eyes.

“When I felt your energy, I thought I was wrong. I wasn’t, even if it was different from before, it was definitely yours, Aomine-kun. Your energy was mixed with some I’ve never felt before. I thought a necromancer trapped your spirit inside your armor until I realized you were there and alive. Maybe it wasn’t a necromancer like me, but I am sure of one thing: you spent the last five years under a curse.”

Kuroko leaned closer, but instead of leaning his hand on Aomine’s face, he flinched his forehead.

“I’m at fault. I abandoned everything and the rumor of the return of the black knight arrived here only when you were on your way to me. If I wasn’t such a coward, I would have saved you.”

Aomine returned the flinch so fast, Kuroko had barely the time to realize what was happening that it had already happened. The quick pain exploded for an instant in the center of his forehead to blur into a bothering tickle. Kuroko didn’t mind Aomine was recovering, that meant he turned into an easy prey. So, he flinched him again, using more strenght.

“Ow, Tetsu! What was that for?!”

“Revenge.”

His eyes were shadowed by a deadpanned straight look, but the tension between the eyebrows revealed Kuroko’s threatening -and sulking- nature.

“So this is it!”

Nigou raised his eyes to watch his master trying to duck the attack, but Aomine grabbed his arm and blocked his attempt of escape. When in the heat of that childish struggle Aomine managed to drag Kuroko on the bed, the fall of their bodies made Nigou bounce on the mattress.

Probably the familiar would have been worried, if it wasn’t for Kuroko’s clear laughs.

***

Aomine stared at his armor from the edge of the field.

It stood in the exact middle of the fields, impaled on a long wooden stick. The bold and fearsome aura was lost into the weak pose, as the helm was leaning towards the right shoulder and the legs formed strange angles. Someone put a hat and a scarf on it and unknown hands doodled many white scribbles on the black surface.

“When I explained the armor was now harmless, they asked me if they could put it to a better use.” Kuroko broke into the depressing silence that fell around his friend. “I’m quite sure it’ll win the next _Best Scarecrow_ challenge. Not a single bird landed since when they finished it.”

“Tetsu, you suck at cheering up people.” Aomine sighed. “That can’t be helped. My armor turned into a useless piece of rust.”

That was the first day he walked out from home on his own. The first day after three years he looked at the world around him with his own eyes. Everything he knew seemed so special and wonderful. The green trees surrounding Kuroko’s small and mysterious house, the sun filtering through the leaves and shining over the small village that appeared in front of them as they descended the small hill. The streets were small but crowded, the sounds and smells tingled his senses, were so different from one another and yet they mingled together.

Touching life again with his own hands, without the screen of the curse, scared Aomine. But Kuroko never left his side, even when the head of the village wanted to talk alone with him.

“By the way, Tetsu.” Aomine snapped. “Why that story of the poor guy who wanted to be a knight and was fooled by a necromancer?! You made me look like an idiot!”

“Aomine-kun, I could never make you look like an idiot.”

Kuroko looked at him and his calm reaction managed to mitigate a bit Aomine’s spirit. But then he spoke again.

“There’s no need, as you are able to look like an idiot on your own.”

A pair of villagers waved their hands at Kuroko. Aomine tried to restrain himself, but his features stiffened and his eyebrows twitched.

“You were much cuter before. When did you turn into such a little shit?”

“Life mold my new shapes.” A fierce light of pride shone into Kuroko’s eyes.

“That wasn’t a compliment, Tetsu.”

“I couldn’t just tell them the truth. I’ve been living here as Kuroko Tetsuya, the witch’s son who’s a mediocre magician and wants to spend a peaceful life helping a peaceful village. Troubles have a nice hearing and in case it would the spread the voice that I was once the magician chosen by the Black Knight the peace here would be broken.” Kuroko had a serious look. He glanced aside. “But… we should write a letter to Momoi-san telling her you’re not dead.”

“Satsuki…”

Aomine wondered for how much time he could have stayed there without problems and menaces gravitating once again around him.

“You can stay for how long you want.”

It seemed like Kuroko could read his mind. Aomine diverted his eyes and hid the blush on his cheeks.

“When I’ll recover completely, I’ll go.”

“Where?”

Their eyes met. And a voice pierced through their ears.

“Helloooo!!!”

The daughter of the head of the village came running at them. Aida Riko had the biggest smile Kuroko had ever seen on her face and he knew that was the sign of troubles coming from her.

“You are the young man Kuroko saved, right?” Her eyes inspected Aomine from head to toe. “You look back in shape enough to give a hand.”

“A hand?”

She nodded. “Hu-uh! We need some help with collecting and chopping down woods. But…” She noticed the unwilling look into his eyes. “…even though you’re tall, you don’t have the right built probably. I heard you were a knight so I thought you were a bit bulker, not that slender… I should go ask someo–“

“Who’s too slender?!”

Aomine walked over her. Kuroko noticed her triumphant smile.

“Since when were you preparing this talk, Aida-san?”

“Since when I saw him this morning.” She chirped.

“Oi! Flat-board, make way!”

The cheerful expression suddenly broke into an angered trembling smile.

“Who’s he calling flat-board, that brat!?”

When Aomine came back, Kuroko was doing the inventory. He just heard something falling on the floor and he turned just to see Aomine’s body collapsed face down in front of the entrance.

“That… devilish flat-board…”

“Aomine-kun, please walk on your own to the bed.”

Aomine rolled on his back. “Give me a break!” He exhaled. “That damn girl made me do all the work!”

“This way you’ll be back in shape in no time.” Kuroko gave him a distracted reply and crossed a word on the piece of parchment.

“Are you even listening to me?!” Aomine sat down. “What are you doing?”

“Inventory. I need to check some ingredients as I need some for a charm.”

“What kind?”

“I’m going to craft a new armor for you.”

Kuroko talked without diverting his eyes from the objects dancing in front of him and moving away in an ordered line as he checked them down on the list. Aomine leaned his back against the doorstep and crossed his legs so that Nigou could jump on that nest and receive some pats.

“What’s the foundation? The previous was lightning.”

“Lightning.”

Aomine was disappointed. He expected something different, a new foundation that could have allowed him to explore a new side of his powers and maybe relieve what he had to endure with the corrupted powers running from his armor to his soul.

“I thought different solutions. One was fire. But the more I reasoned about it, the more I associated Aomine-kun to the lightning. Quick, strong and noisy.”

“Hey. Those are thunders.”

Kuroko chuckled. “But there’s no point in doing the same armor. I’ll try using Nigou’s will-o-the-wisp to give you a connection with the underground spirits. Your soul was strengthened as you survived the curse.”

Aomine was rubbing Nigou’s paws and looked down at the dog. He had his tongue stuck out and looked overjoyed to be played with like that.

“Sure he doesn’t look threatening.”

“He was able to block you in your berserker state and allow me to relieve the curse.”

“…how?”

“That’s not his real form. When he enters battle mode he returns in the shape of a hellhound.”

“I see…”

Kuroko turned his head. “Aomine-kun, why don’t you put a bit of your energy into that little bird?”

Aomine looked around. Near the entrance there was a perch with a small sparrow leaping from right to left and back again. Its plumage was of a clear brown and Aomine stared at him dumbfounded: the sparrow was chirping aloud but he hadn’t noticed its presence until Kuroko mentioned it.

“That’s a charm.”

“My messenger. It’s like Nigou, but a temporary familiar to send a message to Momoi-san.” Kuroko smiled at Aomine’s strange small laugh. “What’s strange? She’s the one who has to know you’re still alive. She’s your childhood friend.”

“I know. I just don’t–“

“She’ll be fine. Whoever did this to you, won’t get past Akashi. At least for now.”

Aomine growled. “And how could you be sure Akashi isn’t behind this? Our group didn’t part ways in the best of the terms.”

Kuroko looked down. He seemed on the verge of crying and all of a sudden the dim light of the shop made him look older than he was, carving shadows inside every wrinkle of his forehead.

“When I heard of your death… the first ones I investigated where them. Kise-kun, Midorima-kun, Murasakibara-kun and of course Akashi-kun too. You died, I was replaced by Mayuzumi and he already had other knights on his entourage. When I realized they had nothing to do, I also realized I did something terrible… I didn’t trust my best friends. So I decided to retire as far as I could from them. I had no right to stay with them anymore, even if even Midorima-kun asked me to follow him.”

Aomine waited for Kuroko to look at him again.

“Things fucked up like a domino back then, huh? You and I were on short terms, everyone went crazy and we couldn’t get along anymore as a group. And then someone ambushed me only gods know how, since I don’t recall a single thing.”

“Yes… I would have never thought we could have talked again like this.”

“Same here.”

Kuroko finished the inventory and instructed Aomine to leave just a little trace of him into the sparrow not to be detected by anyone but strong enough for Momoi to understand. They remained in front of the door observing the sparrow disappearing into the woods in a flap of wings. Then there was only the sound of the wind blowing with kindness through the leaves.

Aomine coughed at the moon. “I guess in five years you’ve found a new partner, right?”

“I am currently a shopkeeper Aomine-kun. I don’t need a partner.”

“Not a fighting partner, Tetsu.”

“A business partner you mean? I inherited part of these things from my mother, so no.”

“No.” Aomine scratched his head. “Ugh, oh come on Tetsu!”

Kuroko chuckled. “Actually, I haven’t yet.”

His voice was clearer during the night, as Aomine remembered. It echoed in the silence of nature, becoming a part of it as if Kuroko wasn’t human, but an emission of the world who could disappear if someone didn’t hold his hand or kept an eye on him.

“It’s dinner time. We better hurry preparing something, or Nigou will eat us.”

Aomine laughed.

“No, really. I discovered after a month I evoked him by my side and it wasn’t nice trying to prevent him from eating some villagers and erasing all those memories. I used so much energy that I stayed in bed for a week.”

Kuroko felt sick at the memory. Aomine believed the deadpanned look into his eyes.

“Tetsu, you surround yourself with dangerous beasts. You should be careful.”

“I used to hang with you, so I’ve done training beforehand.”

“And what this should mean, huh?!”

They waited for Nigou to enter the house and Kuroko closed the door behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I focused on Aomine and Kuroko, so that many things can be grasped or interpreted. I enjoyed writing this short story, especially the part of the fight.

**Author's Note:**

> Glossary (invented by me)
> 
> Milkernel. A very delicate seed that takes six months to flourish and its product has to be harvested the exact day of the flourishing. When it flourishes many tiny pearls sprout from the curvy stalk and they are as delicate as the plant. The liquid inside is like milk, but it's not edible if not through a process that transforms it into a solid cream. This cream has many calories and it's precious in long journeys as it can be preserved for long time. For a portion with enough nutrients for an adult, five pearls of two cm of diameters are needed.  
> The village started planting milkernel to sell them to the merchants travelling to the extreme cold lands of the North when Kuroko arrived and put a charm to preserve the plantation.
> 
> Moonmleria. Seeds that represents the main food for fairies. They are the foundation of potions to heal magicians. Many tried to plant them, but they can only be harvested in nature to maintain their effects.


End file.
